Jewel Prism
by Yumechou
Summary: As the nations are at the brink of large-scaled wars, multiple destinies intertwine into a prelude as they walk on the unknown path. AU Mikorei crossover Final Fantasy IX.
1. Sapphire

Note: Crossover with FFIX (quite old game, lol). This one is actually my most favorite game; I know that most people prefer its predecessors but I guess it's because I love fantasy too much. Warning for heavy MikoRei, mild SaruMi, Kuroh/Weismann and Izumo/Seri. For readers who never play this game, please allow me to give a simple explanation of the setting. The story takes place where the world is divided into Terra (the moon) and Gaia (the Earth). People inhabit Gaia, and there are medieval kingdoms in most of the continents. However, in this story, the people are all humans, with varying affinity toward magic. (There are races in original FFIX) Further explanation hopefully will be written in the story if I don't forget, lol.

Crossposted in AO3. To be honest, this was posted there like...weeks ago. Getting on ffnet took a lot of effort and real life was so busy, so I got lazy, sigh...

Disclaimer: None of K project or Final Fantasy IX is mine. =3= Or else, I would be rich right now, lol.

* * *

><p><em>It hurts…<em>

The fragments of memories came into him; the ritual chamber, the chain, the summoning rite, and the sense of exhaustion and void swirling inside him like a raging storm.

…_Stop it!_

His violet eyes abruptly opened in sudden wake, gasping like a dying fish on the barren land, barely registering the profuse sweat leisurely trickled down from his forehead to the back of his dampened white shirt. He took his moment to catch his breath and found solace in the familiarity of the canopy of his royal bed. Once his palpitating heartbeats had stopped running wildly, he tensed his sore muscles and lifted his hands weakly, floating in the middle air. He sighed in relief at the thought of being able to move again.

Munakata bit his lower lip, recalling the event of last night. As much as he preferred not to remember any of it because the betrayal still felt as bitter as the tang of blood on his tongue, he only heaved a sigh, deciding not to dwell on the past too much. He had no way to rewind the time, but things were not beyond salvage yet. He still had the time and chance to fix things.

The royal prince pushed himself off to sit on the soft cushion and stared to the distant sky through the glass windows. The whiff of white cloud barely covered the majestic golden sun. The beautiful palette of sunset with myriad violet and burning scarlet hues furnished the sky, telling him that he had been sleeping for almost the whole day and in few hours, night would dawn and he would have to return to his duty as a prince of Alexandria Kingdom.

The beauty of the twilight invited him to leave the safety of his bed cover. He dragged his feet lazily as he padded slowly on the soft, royal blue-colored carpet until he stood by the window. From his room, he could see the distant city outside the castle wall as his chamber was located at the highest floor of East Wing tower. Once he pushed open the window with his hands, the cold wind slapped his face, gently stroke his sapphire blue strands. From the city, he could hear the chime of towing bell to alert the children and the citizens that it was almost time to return home. Although the sky was still bright, some of the villagers had burned the fire lantern in front of their house to light up the roads.

The tranquility gave him a reason to grit his teeth and behave as if nothing had happened; like the expected prideful, strong heir of Alexandria.

He was still basking under the golden light of setting sun peacefully by the windowsill when he heard a knock on his door. Munakata frowned; his eyes glinted with cold fury as his shoulders tensed up.

"Prince, are you awake?" A feminine voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

_Awashima…_

Munakata immediately loosened up and wore his usual smile, "Yes, I am. Come in, Awashima."

In a heartbeat, the door was opened and a blonde lieutenant with her hair tied up into a bun with a diamond pin entered almost too carefully, leaving no sound as she treaded her way in. She immediately closed the door before she lifted her anxious azure eyes to meet the usual violet ones, observing for any hint of pain or sadness from the very man who she had taken an oath to protect with her life. "Please forgive my rudeness. I could not find you last night, and none of the servants seemed to know where you were, so I was worried. And this morning when I found out that you had returned to your chamber, the Royal Magician forbade me from interrupting your rest."

"I'm fine." He lied fluently with a smile that never reached his eyes. "It's just an exhaustion; that's all."

The beautiful blonde gazed up through her bangs, looking doubtful. Her prince always kept up the unfaltering image of poised, perfect royal successor, and his brilliance and strength helped him to maintain the exterior of invulnerable man without flaw. She had always been worried that one day he would finally fall victim to fatigue with the constant pressures and expectations although he always shrugged her off with a flippant smile, saying that he still had no problem in handling his duty. But this time was different.

She noticed the dark rings under his eyes, which were not there yesterday afternoon and the color of his complexion was awful. Despite his attempt to stand tall, his posture was slightly slouched and her prince barely made useless movement, as if to conserve his energy. If his weariness was simply because he stayed up late doing the piling paper works, the exhaustion should have been gone with the long sleep he had taken. But now he looked as if someone had just drained his life force, and that was why she was anxious.

Her prince was a man of routine, and there was no day passing without him waking up at dawn even if he had stayed awake for the whole night. This was the first time in her life as his bodyguard that Munakata woke up at this late hour with such ghastly complexion. Something grave must have happened, but the blue-haired prince did not even want to talk about it, but she still coaxed him.

"You won't look so horrible from mere lack of sleep." She said sternly, almost reprimanding before she lowered her voice into a soft whisper, avoiding the fake smiling stare. "Or do you not trust me?"

Munakata shifted his eyes guiltily and the smile faltered into a bitter one when the silence fell between them. After a moment, he finally replied, "I'm sorry for always making you worry, Awashima."

Her chest constricted painfully at his hesitance to confide on her and the thought of being powerless to ease her most respected prince and deliberate him from his trouble. But she swallowed her sadness and made a salute gesture to him with straightened back, facing him with a bright smile. "It's my duty. Please allow me to remind you to get ready for your twentieth birthday party, Prince. The party will begin in two hours. I wish you a happy birthday in advance."

He tilted his head and laughed softly to his hand. "I guess I'm getting older today."

"Yes, Prince." She was also laughing, joining him with lighter mood. "Please don't get carried away just because you are eligible for drinking."

"I'll try." He beamed at her before he dragged his feet as he was walking to the mahogany wardrobe to get ready for the party.

* * *

><p>The dusk had fallen, and the vast orange sky was replaced by jet black blanket with the glittering diamond-like stars.<p>

The darkness had set in, and the night creature of the forest started to lurk out of their nest for hunt. The eerie squeaks and hoot of night owls echoed in every corner of the forest, with the dense mist roaming on the ground and wet grass. Hidden among the the lush forest, there was a faint yellow light emanating from an airship.

A man was sprawled on the mast for looked-out of the ship, using his arms as his pillow. He stifled a yawn when he heard the sound of chime bell just below from the dock underneath him, telling him the time to get on his feet and gather on the meeting room. He stretched lazily like a languid cat while blinking away his drowsiness. Rubbing the back of his red head, he heaved a sigh before he jumped down the rope stairs almost at ease and began treading down his path to the meeting room.

He passed through several youngsters who had lived like brothers under his wings and greeted him cheerily with worshipping light in their eyes. "Mikoto, are you going for the next mission?"

Mikoto simply shrugged and answered nonchalantly as he kept on walking along the corridor, "Yeah, might as well work to pass the night."

He mused as he was on the way to the meeting chamber. As the leader, he was glad that his members, which were mostly strayed orphans that he had picked up along his travel and work, always respected him and remained loyal to the group like a big family. They might be pirates, but he preferred to think themselves as jack-of-all-trades and thus despite being villains, there were codes the whole members had to follow. Homra members were forbidden to hurt women or children without good reasons, and they weren't allowed to harm other members or betray the group nor do anything reckless that would put the whole group in danger. So far, the rules were so simple and no one had yet broken them, to his delight.

When he was just before his destination, the door was suddenly opened and it nearly bumped his nose. A little girl with silver hair and ruby-colored eyes greeted him first as she had expected him by the door with faint smile. "Mikoto, I heard you coming." Her blood-colored dress rustled as she moved. She was the last and youngest member of Homra he had taken in, when he fortuitously saved her from certain event.

He only smiled back as his hand tousled her hair gently and pushed the door open wider before he got himself inside and locked the door behind him. "So, what is the plan, Izumo?" The room was poorly lit with only several candles to light up the whole chamber. They might be on hiding, but on his opinion, the effort was too much. The forest was more than enough to cover their track and conceal them from suspecting eyes.

A blond, fair-looking man crossed his arms with a map laid in front of him on the table, taking a deep inhale of his cigarette with an amused smirk. "It surprises me that you decide to join us, Mikoto. Why is the change of heart?"

"This guy convinces me," Mikoto pointed on another blond standing just next to him with airy smile, still smiling guiltily at Izumo. "Besides, the mission itself sounds interesting. When would we have another chance to kidnap a royal prince?"

"Well, it's not even that hard to persuade you at the first place, Boss." Tatara laughed dismissively, "I think you will go once you hear about the mission, regardless what I've said to you."

"Don't push your luck, kid." Mikoto warned half-heartedly and the blond just laughed at him.

"Okay, so a client has requested us to abduct Alexandria sole heir and deliver him alive in one piece to the client. Penetrating castle's defense is not an easy feat, especially tonight since they are holding a banquet for the birthday prince. So, if you come with us, I beg you not to act brashly, Mikoto." Izumo threw a pointed look at the golden-eyed man with a stern warning. "You may be the Boss, but I'm the strategist, so let's work along the plan."

Mikoto's silence was the best answer he could get, thus the blond did not push it. He simply averted his attention back to the charted map. "I manage to tip off some of castle guards, so we will sneak in the disguise of a travelling theater troupe, as one of the entertainers in the birthday party. The citizens will mostly gather by the castle ground to see the shows and majority of the guards would be placed on the hot zone, especially around the royal family. It should be easy to get inside; Yata and Tatara should be in charge of distraction team. The real problem is how to retrieve the prince."

"Can't we just knock all of them out and kidnap him then get out of there? It saves a lot of time." Mikoto yawned and earned a sigh from his strategist.

"Rumor says that he is quite well-trained for combat and cold-hearted fighter, which means he will probably well-built. Who will carry him once he is out cold?"

"You, me. Get him inside a sack. We can just drag him."

Tatara blurted out a little laugh while Izumo forced an exhale and whined dramatically, "I will volunteer willingly to carry a girl, but a man is another story."

Mikoto circled around the table, passing through several members of their band until he stood just before Izumo. The blond watched him questioningly before Mikoto rested his hand on his shoulder and smirked devilishly for a good minute before he whirled around on his heel and walked out the room, looking completely amused. "You'll manage. Let's go."

Izumo answered with a scandalized look that earned him a consoling pat on his back from Tatara before he walked out the room with sagged shoulders in defeat.

Mikoto walked briskly toward the command room and soon was followed by his most trusted friends. He grabbed for the internal radio and cleared his throat, "Okay, it's time to move out. Enjoy the trip."

Rikio made a face at the echoed remark from the loudspeakers inside the ship and his face almost turned green immediately, "I prefer Kusanagi on the steer wheel."

A young teen with his scarlet hair grinned at his teammate and slapped his back, "It has been a while since Mikoto drives this ship! It should be an exciting ride!"

"You're lucky, Yata, for rarely get air sickness." When the ship was suddenly shaking violently with the loud whirring engine sound, the blond abruptly lurched forward and dashed to the nearest restroom, leaving Yata who was too thrilled at the thought of heading for Alexandria Kingdom, his old hometown.

* * *

><p>It only had been three hours since the party officially began, but it felt like a lifetime for Munakata.<p>

Munakata stifled a yawn politely as he sat on one of the chairs located on the highest balcony of the palace; the reserved spot with best view to greet the incoming citizens, who had come for his birthday. Despite the extreme level of ecstatic excitement coming from the people around the castle, he actually wished for nothing but a peaceful moment of sleep. He still had not recovered well and this public banquet seemed to last longer than midnight. He already felt exhausted mentally at the prospect of staying up late. In his opinion, the party was too extravagant for a birthday celebration, even if the tradition dictated otherwise, that twentieth meant the turning point of reaching adulthood and it was expected for the royal successor to celebrate his birthday as grandiose as possible.

He glanced to the King, who was sitting in the middle of the veranda. He was quite engrossed on the play about star-crossed lovers by a travelling troupe. The prince sighed in relief that at least there was nothing different about him, just a normal doting single parent.

Munakata tried to refocus his attention to the little fictional drama on the stage that was built on castle's vast garden below the balcony. Fiction was not his cup of tea that he preferred poems and puzzles over romantic novels written by someone's wild dreams. Boredom soon fell upon him that he involuntarily kept sighing softly and rested his chin on his propped hand, wondering if he should just make an excuse to get away from this stretching torment. But it would be rude, both to his parent and the coming guests since the party was held just for him.

"If you're bored, you should just excuse yourself, you know."

The prince flinched and glanced up to find the standing guard not far behind his seat, telling him with his usual smug face. He could not resist a smile creeping up to his lips, "I don't expect to see you here, Captain Fushimi. Thought you would prefer to be stationed somewhere else but here."

The young Captain clicked his tongue and shifted his eyes, glaring at the distant black sky, which was brightened up with endless fireworks. "I did request it. General Awashima rejected it."

"Well, I feel safer that you're here."

"If I may comment, in another two hours, you would die from boredom and I can't do anything about it."

He chuckled and took a deep inhale, "And that will earn you a deadly glare from General. Guess I should retire myself."

Fushimi rolled his eyes, although he could see transparent relief from the young guard to be dismissed earlier from duty for the whole night. Munakata turned around to face the King Alexandria, his father, who was currently quite occupied with the show.

"Forgive my interruption, Father. I would like to retire for tonight, if I may."

His father who shared the same sapphire color of his hair, shifted to face him with indifference as he answered, "That's rude actually since this party is for you. But you can go if you want."

Munakata winced inwardly at the cold eyes on him although he kept smiling politely upfront. His father used to be a normal, loving parent that sometimes he felt awkward at his free way in showering affection to his sole heir. For a man who had gone through so much loss, his father was able to bring his children up on his own quite well. Never once he blamed the death of the Queen due to complication during labor on Munakata's birth. Even when he lost his first son, Munakata's brother due to epidemic illness when Munakata was still a clueless child, he cried and lamented for days, but he stood strong afterward for the sake of his only living son and his people.

On full moons, he occasionally saw his father stared at the bright obsidian sky melancholically, saying that it reminded him of his late wife. Feeling worried, Munakata once told him that he gave his consent quite willingly for the King to take another Queen's hand to marriage, but he just refused, saying that he did not need another life partner unless Munakata needed a maternal figure. The young prince quickly shook his head. His father was the only parent he needed and would always be. He was perfect with his entire flaw as a father figure.

But recently something changed, and so was the eerie atmosphere lingering inside the palace. He felt bad premonition, but he could not pinpoint where or what had gone wrong, until last night.

The king seemed like not himself recently, especially so when a strange magician had visited their country. Out of the blue moon, a travelling magician visited their countries when an epidemic illness was spread like a wildfire among the villagers, claiming many deaths among his people. The stranger looked young and child-like with amber eyes and white hairs that they did not believe in what he was capable of at first. He asked for an audience with the King and shared his knowledge of medicine and the illness was eradicated. Afterward, the King took him in as the Royal Magician and counseled him in matter of magical power, especially in the method of defending against the threat of war from neighbor countries.

The Royal Magician, named Yashiro Isana, appeared quite docile and weak, as if he was incapable of hurting a fly. His voice was sultry and polite, but Munakata could not stop getting chills every time he spoke or got near him. Whenever the man watched him, occasionally he caught him staring at Munakata with the eyes of predator that made him quite wary of the latter. It seemed like there was a lot of coincidence that benefitted the magician that Munakata began to have his suspicion, but he could never act on it because the king felt deeply indebted for Isana's achievement. Slowly he began to notice the change in his father and he started to worry about the calamity that would follow.

The King was no longer passionate and benevolent ruler that he lately rewrote the rules that burdened the citizens, such as taxes and military compulsory laws. He rarely listened to the ministry suggestions, but counseled the Royal Magician in every affair of the country. Worst of all, he no longer looked at him with infinite parental love. Instead his eyes were cold and hollow like the beads of dolls' eyes. Munakata speculated that he was put under the spell, but he had no way of proving it.

Munakata was quiet for a moment, watching at his father who had returned his attention back to the play on the stage before he sighed and stood up from his seat. He whirled around on his heel and walked inside the palace with Captain Fushimi tagging along, leaving behind the merriment at the outside. They walked in silence through the empty hallways and the winding stairs until Munakata finally stood before the door of his bed chamber.

"You're dismissed," The prince said conclusively as his hand was on the doorknob. "No need to guard in front of my room. You can get some rest now."

"I've been ordered to protect you for the whole day. Now you are at legitimate age as an heir, there is high possibility that someone would aim for your life." Fushimi argued. As much as he wanted to be free from such tedious task, including guarding a prince who actually was older and stronger than he was but he would always make certain to complete his assignment without flaw. His work ethic simply could not allow petty mistakes.

Munakata gave his best charming smile before he slipped into the room with his hands on the door, "Then, you would be more productive if you join the patrolling security team on parade site if you are so determined to keep working."

Fushimi cringed at the thought of patrolling the whole night and pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose awkwardly, "I'll take my early leave."

The blue-haired prince smiled victoriously and closed the door behind him. "Good night, Captain Fushimi."

* * *

><p>"I have no idea how they can wear this uniform every single damn day." Mikoto scowled as he straightened the military uniform. Izumo gave an apologetic smile at the unconscious royal knights who had been stripped down into nothing but underwear and tied up into the corner of the empty storeroom. He put on the uniform, layers by layers, white shirts, black vest, blue trench coat, belt and the sword. Mikoto had given up on wearing such stifling uniform to his taste that he loosened up his collar carelessly and tossed aside the sword on the floor. It was not as if the metal could do him any good, he decided, as he did not know how to wield one anyway.<p>

Most of the room in the palace had been abandoned empty as the servants mostly left their posts to join the festive outside that it was a child play for them to slip in with such minimal security. As soon as the ship had landed on the palace garden, they used the shade of darkness to veil their presence while the diversion team had changed to the troupe's costumes. Izumo had prepared the blueprint of the palace ahead as well that it did not take long for them to sneak in and wander around the palace. Since the party was large-scaled, most of the knights had been dispatched to guard along the palace perimeter. Consequently, the inner palace was left almost barren and unguarded.

"So where are we going?"

Izumo unrolled the blueprint on his pocket and studied it for a moment, "We are on the east tower. The prince's chamber is on this tower, but right now he must be on the main tower where the grand balcony is to watch the festival. The safest way is to kidnap him when he returns back to his chamber. The security guards would probably come with him, but the number will be less than the guards posted on the balcony right now. We should probably hide inside his room until he returns."

Mikoto rolled his eyes and grunted in low growl, already running along the flight of stairs to the highest floor of the tower with sour look, "It will take hours."

The blond sloppily folded the blueprint and followed the red-haired leader with a weak laugh, "What do you expect? Kidnapping a royal successor is never meant to be easy, Mikoto."

He kept running along the spiraling stairs above, already feeling his leg muscles protesting with every stair he climbed up. From the periphery of his vision, Izumo had slacked behind him, panting hard and stopping once in a while to catch with his breath. Mikoto smirked at him and kept moving forward until his feet finally reached the highest floor of the tower and was about to turn around to wait for his friend when suddenly from the hallway on his left, he saw a flight of a shadow. Mikoto did not have enough time to react, and the shadow had crashed to him, leaving him and the unknown figure to collide and sprawl on the floor.

Mikoto heard a voice in worry called for him, probably Izumo's and an annoyed groan from the shadow that had hit him and now was on top of him, carelessly sitting on him with his/her heavy weight. The red-haired man rubbed the back of his bumped head as he was thrown to the floor while squint his eyes to see his assailant. His eyes were widened to meet the glinting mauve orbs, as bright as amethysts, glaring at him irritably.

"State your name, knight. Have you forgotten the rules that it is forbidden for you to run along the hallway if it is not for emergency?" The stranger's hood fell down and it revealed the color of vast sea. Only then Mikoto realized that he had bumped into a man with a ferocious beauty in rival to a mythical beast and mesmerizing dark blue-colored hair.

He snapped out of his reverie when Izumo gasped and shouted at him as he was climbing the last flight of stairs, "Mikoto, he's the prince! Get him!"

Mikoto impulsively reached out to grab the stranger in haste while lying on the floor, but the latter was quick to his feet that the blue-haired prince already leapt off and kept some distance between them, watching at him warily.

"Who are you? How dare you to sneak into the palace?" The Alexandria prince pulled out the sword under the jet black cloak and unsheathed it to point it at Mikoto as the latter lifted off the floor. "I'm in hurry. I would suggest you to surrender so not to waste my time."

Izumo halted, watching in horror at their target pointing his sword on his friend. Their plan was supposed to be flawless, but he did not consider the possibility that the prince would leave the festival few hours earlier than expected. His plan was supposed to attack the prince when he was vulnerable and unprepared, but it seemed that Lady Luck did not reside with them. While he did not doubt Mikoto's combat ability, but he had heard the rumor of the prince's exceptional skill in swordplay and battle field. If they were about to fight each other, it would take too much time and caused too much commotion for a peaceful abduction.

"Can't do that," Mikoto smirked before he lunged forward to thrust his fist, aiming for the prince's abdomen. However, before the hit could connect, his knuckle was blocked by the sword sheath and he swiftly moved aside just in time before the merciless blade could cut his arm off. Mikoto could feel his blood boiling with excitement. It had been a while since he had a good fight and a strong opponent, in par with his level. If he had enough time, he would gladly indulge himself in such intense battle. However, time was a luxury he did not have, thus he was trying to focus on knocking his opponent out and complete the mission. "You're the target, after all."

The prince pushed his eyeglasses up to the bridge of his nose without leaving his eyes on Mikoto, threatening in a low voice, "An assassin? What an insolent fool. Who employs you?"

"You'll know once you come with us peacefully." Mikoto dashed forward and threw punches in lightning speed. It almost appeared as if he managed to corner the prince as their target maintained the defensive position and pushed the latter backward to the hallway, but the leader of Homra noticed that the prince was simply studying his moves and waiting for an opening. Suddenly the glint in the prince's eyes changed like a hawk, and Mikoto instinctively jumped backward and kept his distance. If it was an amateur, he would already lose his head. In such fleeting moment, the Alexandria heir had wounded his upper arm, although superficially since he managed to avoid the counter attack just in time. But the blood seeped and stained the stolen uniform with a torn on the arm sleeve from the slash.

Mikoto sighed at the throbbing pain from the wound and smirked at the prince, waiting for him to strike. But he did not expect when the latter took a deep inhale and scoffed.

"I don't have time for this."

Before Mikoto could expect it, the prince had sheathed back his word and put on the hood again. His target swiftly turned around and ran to the other direction of the hallway. After a good two seconds in surprise, Mikoto and Izumo started the chase, scowling at their entirely ruined plan.

* * *

><p>The moon was full tonight and brightened up the stone trail in the garden.<p>

Fushimi stifled a yawn as he flipped open the pocket watch to see the needle pointed at ten, telling him that it was almost midnight that he should return to the dorm early since the prince had dismissed him. He was crossing along the empty garden leisurely, which connected between the east tower and the main building when he heard a faint cracking sound from distant. He paused for a moment, listening cautiously for the sign of intruders when the sound actually got closer. He lifted his head with a frown, only to gawk in surprise as he saw a stranger with the black cloak, barely noticeable in the darkness of the night, ran and leapt on the rooftop of the building, escaping from the royal knights he did not recognize behind him.

However, for a second, he saw the cloaked stranger stared down at him with such familiar violet eyes in surprise before he kept on leaping to the next rooftop. Fushimi pinched his forehead tiredly and clicked his tongue. After a moment of silence, he started pursuing them while scowling irately, "Can't you stay put just for tonight!?"

Munakata nimbly leapt off the gap between roofs. The castle was his playground that he was too familiar every crook of it. If it was just a normal palace guard, he would have lost them. But his assassin seemed to be on different level that he could hear the heavy footsteps not far from behind him. He clicked his tongue with a low scowl, cursing his bad luck to be chased in such important night. Dying on such beautiful night was not an option though, he thought.

However, he finally reached the dead end of the East tower, his feet was already on the border of the tower wall, with hundred meters away from the ground. Just one little push and he would fall from the height and meet his demise. Nevertheless, it would not differ much, considering with his assassin already coming up to him, getting ready to take out his life.

Munakata turned around while keeping his balance carefully to face Mikoto, who already smirked at the sight of him being cornered. The gust of wind slapped him and his cloak, as if trying to push him over and fall, but his feet kept a steady standing.

"You can't run away anymore. Now, if you would come down from there and give yourself up quietly…"

The sight of Mikoto irked him, treating him as if he was an easy prey to hunt. He snapped with a glare, "Don't be ridiculous. If I have to choose my way of death, I would prefer to fall from here than to be done by your dirty hands, Mr. Assassin."

"What? Who would kill-"

But Mikoto could not even finish his line. His target had whirled around with his back on Mikoto and leapt off the edge of the tower. Izumo, who had been following Mikoto, watched in incredulous horror and gasped loudly. Mikoto abruptly rushed to the edge of the wall and hovered over to witness the fate of his target, while fearing the worst that they had failed the mission.

However, the sight surprised him. He was not even certain whether he should feel relieved or being humiliated for feeling worried for a second. The Alexandria prince had slid down to the tower across theirs using the thick flag rope that dangled between the poles of the towers. Munakata released the hand grip on the rope, took off his gloves and tossed them to the ground. He inspected his hands for a while for any skin scrap. It was more than obvious that the blue-haired prince had prepared his escape route in advance, considering the equipment he had set up beforehand. When he saw that everything went well, he lifted his head up, giving a victorious smirk to his pursuer before he continued running away from Mikoto.

Mikoto growled, tasting the insult in full blow and his blood boiled to win the chasing game. He barely registered that Izumo had suggested pulling back first and revising their plan when Mikoto took off the belt he had stolen from the guard and fastened it to his hands.

"Mikoto!?" Izumo exclaimed in surprise, when his friend followed the prince, climbing the wall and standing at the edge of it. The next moment, Mikoto had kicked off from the edge and slid down to the next tower, using the belt as a strap as he hurtled down the rope. The night wind was cold against his skin, but he did not even feel it with the exhilaration of this new game. His eyes were set on the back of certain mouse on the run. He stumbled a bit as he landed on the ground of next tower, but he did not waste any second to run after his target.

Izumo suppressed a frustrated yell and turned around to find an alternative route. He was not going to get himself killed just for one job. "Damn it, he probably doesn't think it as a mission anymore!" 

* * *

><p>"Such a persistent guy!" Munakata shouted angrily when he heard a presence running after him. He leapt off to the next roof swiftly, "who is hiring you!?"<p>

"If you stop for a moment," Mikoto took a deep inhale as he panted, "I'll tell you." His golden eyes glinted with excitement. He had always thought that the royal members were probably weaklings with their luxury lifestyle that they were not supposed to be this swift and tough. However, this Alexandria prince was quite a challenge as he was more than capable in running like a deer and he intrigued him. Mikoto had to exert his best ability to chase him.

"And get myself killed? No, thank you." Munakata slid down the roof and jumped to the hallway underneath it, and started running to the nearby exit, panting heavily. He was not feeling well to begin with and now the exhaustion from recent exertion started to abate him greatly. However, before he could reach out for the door handle, a strong arm had encircled around his neck and pulled him back from his only exit. Munakata attempted to wriggle his way out, but Mikoto had already fastened his other arm around Munakata's waist to keep him still. The grip only tightened as he flailed around, that eventually Munakata ceased his retaliation as his limbs felt weak with lack of oxygen with Mikoto's arm constricted his windpipe.

"Stop it, I don't want to harm you." Mikoto whispered in chiding voice next to Munakata's ear. "If you promise not to run away and listen to me, I will release my grip." A flash of doubt were on Munakata's eyes, but he kept still as if complying with Mikoto's demand.

Mikoto loosened his arms slowly, but Munakata had scooted away from him as quick as possible, sitting on the floor while coughing with a tear brimming on the edge of his eyes. His captor watched him carefully, but he did not make any gesture with intention to kill and it confused him.

"Aren't you trying to kill me?" Munakata tried, with cracking voice.

"I never said that I'm going to kill you." Mikoto took several steps closer before he squatted before the prince.

Munakata narrowed his eyes dangerously, "…What do you want?"

"Well, a client asked me to kidnap you, alive and well. So, if you oblige, we will not harm you in anyway." Mikoto grinned carelessly, expecting a horrified look from his prey.

However, to his astonish, Munakata only laughed with an amused look. "Well, Mr. Kidnapper, it's your lucky day." He shot up and dusted off his pants and his black cloak with easy smile. Mikoto could not help but to gaze up in adoration at the sight before him. The moon hung high behind the prince, and when the royal heir took off his hood, the ivory light fell on his hair like an angelic halo. "What a coincidence, I need you to take me away from here."

Mikoto replied, dumbfounded, "What?"

Munakata snorted in annoyance as he repeated coldly, "Take me away from here, you dolt. I don't like saying the same thing twice."

"Is that how you ask help from people?" The amber eyes glowered at violet ones.

The royal prince only sighed and shrugged, "Will you do me a favor or not? If not, I have a getaway to do. I don't have all night to negotiate with you."

Mikoto lifted himself off the ground with a scoff and bowed with a teasing smirk, "Then, Your Highness, shall I lead the way?"

Munakata wrinkled his nose and went past Mikoto nonchalantly, "so what's your plan to escape from here after kidnapping me?"

"I got an airship to get us away from here, if you don't get air sickness easily." Mikoto trotted behind him. "It's parked near the stage show."

Munakata stopped momentarily and turned to face Mikoto as pieces came together in his mind, "Don't tell me that you are disguised as one of the travelling troupes."

"Well, we are." Mikoto answered with a questioning look. "Why?"

The royal prince shrugged, "No, I find it baffling that the security guards easily let you pass, without confirming your background. Apparently, we have to stricken the protocol."

"If they did that, you probably wouldn't have a free ride on our ship tonight."

Munakata was silent for a moment, pondering before he replied with a smile to Mikoto, "I guess you have a point there."

**To be continued...**

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><p>The ones who have played FF9 probably have a big picture on how the story goes. For FF IX fans, I apologize in advance since I might ruin FF awesome plot into…a messy plot…XD;; Will try my best to update before new year. :p<p> 


	2. Opal

Disclaimer: None of K project or FFIX is mine.

Note: Happy New Year 2015! And with the start of 2015, I shall get busy like nothing before, so the update might become lots slower. Wait, no, let me fix that. The update WILL certainly become slower. Please forgive my turtle-pace update in the future...Okay, FFIX fans would have realized that this fic differs with the game in some part for adjustment. Though I might ruin the story, I hope you'll still enjoy it with its flaws...^_^;;

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><p>A shadow scurried in the darkness of the corner of the walls, barely made a sound as it shifted slowly against the stone wall behind him. At the moment, the hallway was still left empty and he could even hear the cicada's cries from the garden. However, Izumo cursed his luck at their failure of current mission. Now that the prince had slipped away from their grasp, it would only be a matter of time before the whole palace was in uproar and swarmed by royal guards in order to guarantee the safety of royal families and capture the criminals. Even if they pulled back today and barely escaped, the castle would be in extremely high alert, making it almost impossible to retrieve their target. He would not even be surprised to see the wanted poster of him and Mikoto all over the town and their name would be marred among their line of work and the prospective clients.<p>

The Alexandria Kingdom was famous for being surrounded by water and the palace stood just before the grand waterfall, thus it was protected by impassable natural defense against external assault and its construction was purposely made difficult for the intruder, such as him and his friends to have an easy escape route. Even the inner palace was built with canals and bridges across the trenches to connect the castle with the other part of castle and the town, thus there was only one gate for entrance and exit of the palace with several units of royal guards posted. Their only means of escape was their airship. If the knights managed to contain their beloved airship, they would stand no chance for escape. Thus, it was only logical that they would make their retreat now, where the security guard seemed not to be alerted yet, since the prince might not have managed to report the break in. The only thing left was for him to find Mikoto before they missed their opportunity to withdraw.

Once he was able to get across the connecting garden to the main tower, Mikoto might have waited for him back in the airship, already on disguise as one of the performers for the play. Their plan might be a total failure, but their lives should be prioritized. He couldn't risk jeopardizing the safety of whole group just for one mission; especially with the distraction, theatric team was currently in the very heart of Alexandria Palace, along with their airship.

He peeked just by the edge of the wall, only to find an empty, spacious hallway before he dashed as fast as his feet could carry him. However, not long after he started running, there was a heavy, mercilessly cold voice rang behind him.

"Halt!" The voice behind him sounded young, but it was hollow of emotion. "Turn around and state your name and your post. Now."

Izumo could hear the menacing rustle of clothes, the eerie echoes of heavy footsteps against the marble floor and the sound of blade being pulled out of its scabbard. His heartbeat was noisy, coming from his recent exertion and the adrenaline rush from being discovered. The next second, he could feel the sharp point of the metal against his back, and a sweat rolled down from his forehead to his chin. Feeling that he had no choice but pretended to comply as he waited for an opening to strike, the blond slowly turned around until his eyes met the predatory sapphire eyes, which glared suspiciously and cautiously at him like a hunting hawk.

The spectacled guard spoke in impassionate voice as he leered, yet his posture only screamed danger to Izumo's perception, "I've never seen you before. Who's your supervisor?"

He was surprised for a second when he saw the youth, who was probably several years younger than him, yet he wore a different uniform to the one he was wearing, indicating that the latter was probably a higher-ranked officer despite his age. Izumo lifted up his hands to the air as the sign of surrender as he gave a weak laugh, "I'm the new guard. I still haven't remembered the plan of the castle, so I get lost." He wasn't optimistic enough that he would be able to deceive the youngster, but there was no other choice left for him. He had to resort to every method, even violence if he had to.

The raven-haired officer narrowed his eyes, telling the latter that he didn't buy the excuse at all. Izumo was preparing inwardly for the need of engaging the knight to a battle if necessary when Fushimi clicked his tongue and sheathed his saber. "Incompetent amateur. I won't forgive the next time I find you getting lost again."

"Yes, sir!" Izumo faked a salute, already hearing himself sighing in relief. Although he didn't fear shedding blood in a fight, he had much more important issue to take care of that he preferred to avoid unnecessary battle. For example, fleeing from Alexandria Kingdom fully intact…

"New guards are always in pairs. Where is your partner?"

"We are trying to find the way to the front gate, but we get lost, Sir. We are separated as we looked for the way." The blond fluently lied with a forged ashamed look with his eyes casted down to his shoes. There was no way he could let the high-ranked soldier before him to get even a small hint of his deceit in his eyes for the success of his getaway.

"I'll accompany you to find your partner so you won't get lost again. Move now, I don't have time to waste."

"Yes, sir!" Izumo already felt the crawling goose bumps along his nape for walking next to the castle guard, but he couldn't refuse the offer or else he would invite unnecessary suspicion. He dragged his feet, hoping that if they indeed found Mikoto, he would be able to go along with the story. Once he managed to meet up with his friend, it would be two against one and the knight would not stand a chance against them. He could actually attempt to take the raven-head out here, but it would be riskier in his opinion.

The young captain strode next to Izumo, unnecessarily fixing his eyeglasses with a smirk.

* * *

><p>"So why are you trying to escape here?" Mikoto asked as they treaded path in the labyrinth of dark underground drainage. He was separated with Izumo, but this was not the first time (since he tended to mess up the plan) and he trusted the latter enough to gather back at the airship and flee before the whole palace realized that the sole royal heir was no longer in their safe cradle. He didn't know the palace ground, so he could only follow his companion to lead the way. Apparently, the royal prince had been more than prepared to slip away from the Palace. He had planned ahead the secret passages that even Izumo didn't know about to elude the posted guards.<p>

"It's none of your business." Munakata replied curtly as he kept his eyes looking ahead in the dark secret underground drainage. His hand traced the moist, mossy wall on his right side as he walked down the path with the blueprint of the structure in his head to guide him. He could easily keep his concentration despite the distraction behind him, but the noise still irritated him. He was drained and a moment of peace was all he needed and yet the rogue behind him robbed him that desired comfort.

Mikoto ignored Munakata's spiteful dismissal and continued to ask. Originally he was not a curious type, but this specific cobalt-haired prince intrigued him and once Mikoto was determined on something, he would only stop until he got it. "I guess you are trying to escape your boring, luxurious life to get a little sense of freedom just like other royal brats."

Munakata abruptly stopped walking that Mikoto bumped his nose painfully against the back of Munakata's head. The young prince whirled around and glared at him as he put his hands on his waist. "I don't care what you think. Whatever my reason is, I have no obligation to tell you. I only ask you to help me to leave this palace without being known and yet you barely shut your mouth ever since we come to an agreement."

"So you don't deny it?" Mikoto sneered coldly. In response, Munakata let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temple. He couldn't imagine that there would be a person who he couldn't stand being with longer than 10 minutes. Nevertheless, Munakata was surprised of himself too. In most situations, he would not lose his composure or be easily provoked, no matter how hard his opponent was pressing on. However, there was something about the scarlet-haired kidnapper that he just couldn't allow himself to lose, even in such petty bickering.

He locked his violet eyes against the amber ones with warning look, "I ask you again this one last time. Will you help me or not, on one condition that you would shut up? It's not as if I couldn't escape this place without you, thank you very much."

"Then why are you agreeing to go with me?"

"Because it seems that this alternative plan will save me a lot of time." Reisi deadpanned. "Though I start to have my qualm that since you can't stop talking and we have to stop walking to have this fruitless conversation."

"Is that how all royalty talks or is it just you?" Mikoto randomly asked. He almost laughed when Reisi rolled his eyes and looked completely annoyed with completely off regal poise. His figure as he kept the appearance as Alexandria prince seemed to be majestic and fine-looking, but Mikoto preferred this side of the same man, who looked less precise and more endearing with a tint of scarlet to his cheeks because of frustration. He seemed to be more humane, instead a divine public figure of a kingdom.

Reisi took a deep inhale, trying to exert all patience in his fiber with his hands on his waist. "Forget it. As soon as we get out of the tunnel, I'll be on my own."

"Now that can't do." Mikoto harshly grabbed for Munakata's wrist with a threatening grin on his lips. "In case you forget, you're coming with us, with or without your consent. Our mission is to abduct you after all."

Munakata didn't resist the deadly grip on his wrist, but he only glared at Mikoto with mocking smirk, "Ungrateful man. In case you forget, I save you by guiding you out to your airship to meet your partner in crime. I wish that you would stop thinking that you are the greatest criminal ever and I'm your trade merchandise, because _in fact_, none of these are true."

Mikoto closed the distance between them with a scowl to threaten the latter, but in the darkness, he finally noticed the heavy pants from the latter, as if the prince had been on marathon for hours. Considering how nimble he was and the stamina from the run before, Mikoto couldn't think that their current walking pace like a stroll in the garden could exhaust him. Something seemed off. "I did manage to capture you before." Mikoto argued, although his tone was less spiteful.

"You just got lucky." Munakata forced an exhale and abruptly tugged his hand away from Mikoto's grip. Mikoto released him effortlessly, but the second Munakata broke free, he swayed and slightly tipped off to the water drain. Mikoto instinctively reached out and grabbed for the royal heir's arm to keep him from falling to the waste water.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?"

Munakata clicked his tongue and pulled away from Mikoto once he regained his balance. He could feel the energy slipping away and his entire body screamed in tremendous exhaustion. At this rate, he would jeopardize his entire plan to escape from Alexandria. But he couldn't show any moment of weakness to this man in front of him. He pushed Mikoto away with his hands on the latter's shoulders and whirled around to continue walking. The exit was only several meters away, according to the structure plan. "I'm fine. We don't have very much leisure time. Captain Fushimi probably saw me back then; he might have alerted the other guards. Before they could block every possible escape routes, we have to get away from here."

"You look like you're going to collapse anytime soon though." Mikoto shrugged carelessly, already followed the prince as they quickened the pace.

Without looking back, Munakata snapped frostily, "_Shut up_."

* * *

><p>Munakata pulled his cloak tighter, trying to veil his face as he ran behind Mikoto toward the stage show where the transport for his flight was parked. After they had walked out of the tunnel and ended up just behind the spectator seats of the drama play, the lanterns and stage lights offered too much luminosity that one small mistake might expose his face. Although the audiences seemed too busy to notice them treading softly behind the audience seats with the drama reached its climax, he couldn't risk any unexpected event.<p>

When they finally reached the back door of the ship, Mikoto stopped and opened the door for him with a smirk. "We're here, Your Highness, in our humble ship."

Munakata was about to retort back when from the periphery of his vision, there was a sliver of gold and then a voice rang with false relieved laugh, "Hey, there you are! Sorry, man, I get lost when I'm trying to find you! Luckily, this nice knight offers to help me find the way."

The prince's amethyst eyes were widened when he saw the incoming party, especially the jet black-haired knight following behind the blond as they walked toward them. He resisted the urge to slap his forehead when he saw the smirk on Fushimi's lips widened, victoriously and viciously.

"Mr. Criminal, get your friend now."

"Huh? Why?"

Just as soon as he asked that, Munakata flashed passed through him like a lightning with a glint of silver on his hand and loud clangs of metal echoed piercingly in the air as the royal heir stood between Izumo and Fushimi. Izumo didn't expect the sudden turn of event, much less for the man shrouded in black cloak to roughly pull him away from Fushimi and hurl him toward Mikoto and the suspiciously dangerous sound of striking metals. He collided against Mikoto and luckily his boss managed to capture him safely when his brain tried to process what had been occurring just now.

Fushimi clicked his tongue in annoyance and pulled out more of his knives hidden under his blue trench coat. He had intended to strike at the vital points of the royal prince's assassins with his knives, and yet the target of his protection attempted to protect his prey instead. "What's the meaning of this, Your Highness?"

"Stop it this instant, Captain Fushimi."

"You know that I can't do that now, can I? General Awashima will personally behead me if she knows that I let you leave the castle."

Munakata pointed his saber toward his personal guard with a small, authoritative smile. "I have my reason for this. Would you please forget this and pretend that we never see face to face at this hour?"

"Now that's a foolish request. Return to the palace with me, Your Highness." Fushimi extended his left hand with a glare.

"Such a pity. If you insist to get in the way, I will have no choice but to go against you."

"It's useless even if you manage to knock me out cold. Do you really think that I would go here unprepared?" Munakata was taken aback for a moment although his face remained stoic and calm but the flinch was enough for Fushimi to apprehend his surprise.

Fushimi smirked and snickered almost sadistically, "I've notified General Awashima of your absence before I trick that blond there to lead me and show me their means of escape method. The lack of mobilized knights within the castle is not because we don't realize those sneaky rats, but because they are preparing the cannons to bring down any transportation that is meant to carry you the moment it starts the engine. The only thing left for me is to give the hint for General where you are located."

"Well, that would trouble me," Munakata pushed his eyeglasses up to the bridge of his nose with a composed smile. "Would they shoot down this airship if I'm on it, I wonder?"

As if Mikoto understood his words, the crimson-haired man abruptly rushed toward the secret door of the ship, dragging Izumo along with him. Munakata didn't hesitate to whirl around with his back on Fushimi as he rushed. Fushimi scowled under his breath, knowing that Munakata purposely became the shield for the perpetrators because Fushimi wouldn't dare to hurt him, or else he would not get away simply with one week of legendary Awashima's red-bean paste meals. He didn't take a moment in idle to chase after the troublesome royal prince and enter the den of enemies.

* * *

><p>"Go! I'll hold him back down here!" Munakata yelled, while he was running along the stairs leading to the bridge to start the engine. The tragic play of the most famous script in Alexandria they had performed was about to end, and the audience would most likely not expecting an abrupt leave of the airship. If the Captain of Knights was telling the truth, they probably wouldn't have an easy ride out of the kingdom, but at this phase, they would have no other choice but to proceed with the mission.<p>

Mikoto turned his head toward Izumo. The blond quickly caught the meaning and rushed passed through him. "Got it. Leave it to me, you go help that prince!"

When Mikoto ran back the stairway, the exchanging clash of blades had already started. Just as soon as he arrived at the most bottom dock, Munakata was already on his way in cornering his knight, although under the candle lights on the ship wall, he looked tremendously pale like a worn-out doll. Fushimi was too focused to defend himself against Munakata's blade that he was a second too late to notice the blow from behind and despite his attempt to avoid the punch, the hit landed on his temple and he was thrown to the floor with cracked eyeglasses. The hit left him in temporary disorientation and it took all of his willpower to stand up, although his balance was in total mess.

"I appreciate your unnecessary help, but please stop trying to kill my knight, barbarian." Munakata narrowed his eyes on Mikoto ferociously. The red-head thief boss rolled his eyes exasperatedly at the insult and snapped, "_Your welcome_."

Fushimi said weakly as he leant against the ship pillar, trying to get rid the loud ringing in his ears and the splitting headache. "Stop this idiocy. Your Majesty has been informed that you're gone with the Royal Pendant. He would shoot down this airship even if you're aboard if you intend to leave with the royal heirloom."

Munakata casted down his gaze solemnly, "If he truly does so, it gives me more reason to leave this place. My cause is beyond Alexandria."

Just as soon as he replied, the ship jerked into motion all of sudden, Munakata and Mikoto instinctively grabbed for the steady pillars for support while Fushimi once again lurched forward and was sprawled on the floor with another wave of nausea, worsening his confused state. The internal radio blared loudly inside the airship's interior, amidst the chorus of gasp and puzzled screams coming from the outside. A familiar voice echoed from the speakers, "We're departing. Please be prepared for emergency attack."

Munakata immediately grabbed for Fushimi's hand and pulled the teenager up with a determined look. "Get up, Captain. We can't stay in the bottom deck. If we remain here and they really shoot the airship, the splinter of broken woods might befall and bury us."

"Are you seriously taking him with you?" Mikoto asked, utterly bewildered. "He will only give us trouble in the future."

The royal heir snapped his head toward Mikoto and glowered ominously, "Yes, and I will not accept refusal. Shall we proceed now to the main deck?" He slung Fushimi's arm around his neck to support the young captain standing.

Mikoto only sighed resignedly and started running up the cascading stairs, leaving Munakata in his effort to drag the disoriented knight along with him.

* * *

><p>"The engine is ready!" Misaki ran toward the control room, panting hard as he rushed from the engine room. "What's happening here, Izumo!?"<p>

"No time to explain! We have to get out of here soon! Our target is in the lower deck with Boss, go help him!"

"Aye, sir!" Misaki hurriedly rushed out and straightforwardly went to the flight of stairs down. Just as soon as he was about to run down, he saw Mikoto's figure already reached the last case of the stairs to his relief. "Boss! I'm glad you're alright!"

Mikoto smirked back at him, but then Misaki's grin faltered when he saw the men behind Mikoto and his eyes widened in horror once they settled on the out cold young man in the blue uniform, looking as pale as the bed sheet. He gasped loudly, barely noticed the curious look from the man cladded in black cloak and his boss, "Saru!" Just as soon as he yelled that name, a loud booming sound was heard from above, and the ship shook severely, leaving them with a moment of surprise. Munakata crashed into a wall, reflexively used his own body to cushion Fushimi from banging against the wall. Misaki plunged forward, just in time to grab the nearest pillar to hold on, "What was that!?"

"The King really intends to carry out his word." A shadow loomed on Munakata's face as he kept climbing up the stairs carefully and huffed once his feet finally reached the top of the stairs. He put down the captain on the floor, letting the raven-haired knight to get a moment to recover from his nausea before he sprinted off to the outside. Mikoto quickly followed the royal heir as he shouted, "Do you have a death wish? They're shooting cannons, stupid!"

"There is a small chance that he will withdraw the order once he sees me aboard the airship." Munakata continued to climb up the stairs to the foredeck, only to see the statue of a mermaid on the bowsprit already burning and crumbling.

"There is no guarantee to that! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" Mikoto could see more cannons fired toward his ship, and estimating from the direction, they would hit the bow and the engine room.

"You can't guarantee my safety inside the ship either." Munakata replied calmly and stood tall to face his father. Nevertheless, even from the distant and through the thick, black smoke of the burning woods, he could see the exterior of the king contorted in blind rage at the sight of him and gestured his soldiers to bring down the airship. Beside the king, Awashima covered her mouth with her hands with a pure terror in her blue eyes as her gaze fell upon him. Munakata could see her trying to stop the king from recklessly shooting down the ship, but the King didn't waver. Instead he shoved her away angrily and proceeded with his command.

Mikoto finally grabbed his arm, earning Munakata's full attention. "Grab on something, this ship cannot hold on any longer!" Munakata was about to take hold of a mast pillar when the impact of the colliding cannon shook greatly, making him fall on the floor on his tailbone painfully.

Another cannons hit the airship and the tremor accelerated the cracks in the decks. The whole ship creaked as it managed to leave the castle ground and continued to fly low above the town. The keel hit the church rooftop, causing the giant copper bell to fall to the ground and destroy the pavement road beneath. The airship was burning and some of the masts fell and crashed onto the town's house rooftops. Bit by bit, the airship was falling apart. Mikoto only stared at the palace which became more distant behind him as it passed through the border gate of Alexandria before the airship began to lose its height and crashed down to the depth of dark, wild forest outside the kingdom.

Everything seemed to flash like broken record that he only caught glimpses of the event before everything went black. Mikoto recalled seeing the fire spreading to the foredeck and the side of the airship. He remembered that the wooden mast which the royal prince had grabbed on was splintered into two and it fell out of the ship along with the sapphire-head heir as his airship tilted to one side and crushed the trees along its trail during the emergency land. He remembered stretching out his hand to grab the prince and those violet eyes caught a glance at him before Munakata shouted something at him. However, the noise of crackling fire and the crumbling parts of the ship drowned his voice. Before he managed to clasp the prince's hand, something smacked the back of his head and there was a momentary darkness filling his vision.

When Mikoto snapped open his eyes, the ship was still on its straight path to crash and the royal prince was nowhere to be found. The fallen trees had served as their brakes, thus slowed down the speed. There was a track of destruction behind them but Mikoto intended to ignore it. At the rate of the ship was going and his vulnerable location at the chaotic main deck without any sturdy post to hold on, he was at extremely high risk of suddenly being propelled out of the airship from the impact. Just as he expected, the ship seemed to smash into a huge boulder that Mikoto instantly was hurtled out of the ship. In a short moment, he jumped to the nearby pine tree and slipped down for a bit as he lost his grip. Once he hung on the high branches of the tree, Mikoto turned around to see Homra's airship had finally stopped only a few kilometers away from his current spot and the fire still blazed bright.

He couldn't bother checking for any wound on him. Mikoto swiftly leapt off from one branch to another until he reached the ground and dashed to the crash site, wishing that his friends would at least manage to escape the fire and get into the safety.

* * *

><p>"Bring more water! Douse the fire!" His golden hair was covered in black dust that it lost its usual gleam. The dirt was smeared on his handsome face as he wiped his sweat with the back of his hand, but he could be careless since a few of the members were mildly injured and it seemed that they didn't have any severe casualty so far. Anna was in the clearing, tending the wounded while Tatara and Misaki ran around with buckets of water, trying to kill the fire as much as they could. Kamamoto was dragging out some wounded members. It was hopeless, of course, to wish that their precious belongings would not catch the fire, but they hoped that there would be some things they could salvage, for example, Tatara's musical instruments and Anna's favorite ribbon.<p>

Mikoto hurriedly leapt off to the leveled ground and tapped on Izumo's shoulder nonchalantly, asking quietly, "How is everyone?"

A transparent surprise and delight was projected on his expression and his eyes, "Mikoto! Glad you're okay!" The rest of the running members abruptly stopped their activities to spare several seconds to look at him with bright eyes. Kamamoto rushed toward him with teary eyes, "Boss! Thought you were gone! We can't find you anywhere."

Misaki punched the blond's head and yelled half-heartedly, "Of course he would be okay! Don't jinx him!" Kamamoto shrunk away from him, rubbing his head. "That hurts, Yata! Don't hit me!"

Anna trotted and reached out to take Mikoto's hand in her grasp with a relieved smile. He couldn't resist but to return her gesture, clasping her small fingers tighter reassuringly. Izumo cleared his throat a little before he began with his report, "The good news is, everyone seems to be okay. Eric hurts his leg and Masaomi fractured some of his ribs, but the bleeding has stopped and they are stabilized. Shohei has a bump on his head, but his condition seems to be normal at the moment. The others only suffer scraping wounds."

Mikoto nodded in acknowledgment, waiting for Izumo to continue. The blond took a deep inhale before he frowned with troubled face, "The bad news is, we only find the Alexandria knight. He is fine, Anna was checking on him before. But the prince is nowhere to be found. Bandou said that he saw someone got thrown out of the ship during the emergency landing. He might get squashed under the ship."

"First we abduct him and now we kill him! We will surely be hanged for this." Kamamoto wailed hysterically, earning him another hit on his head from Misaki.

Mikoto rubbed the back of his hair in frustration, but it made him wincing at the stabbing pain, which reminded him of a bump on the back of his head. He recalled that he failed to reach out for the royal heir when he was thrust out of the ship along with the broken mast when they were still flying low above the forest, crashing to the top of the pine trees. He could only pray that the prince possessed enough luck to survive the fall from the height. Considering how skillful and dexterous the latter was, there was still possibility of him being alive, although he couldn't imagine him to escape the danger unscathed. Nevertheless, the odds were there. Who knew if he could find the prince quick and help him, he might survive. After all, the mission only demanded him to bring the prince to the client alive. There was no mention about him being hurt as one of the breaching conditions of the contract.

"I'll go to survey the area." Mikoto curtly said, gently pulling his hand from Anna's grasp. The little silver-haired girl nodded in understanding as she hurried back to wrap bandage on Shohei's head. Izumo shrugged and grinned at Mikoto, "I'll watch over this place. You go find a way out from this forest."

Mikoto was about to walk away to the depth of the forest when they heard the loud slap coming from clearing area. Anna winced in pain as she put her hand close to her chest and Fushimi stood tall before her with a cold tone. "Stand aside. Don't get in my way."

Misaki angrily ran to Anna and stood before her protectively, "What are you doing!? She is only trying to help you, you ungrateful monkey!"

Fushimi sneered at him and crossed his arms, "Long time no see, Mi-sa-ki~ I see that you're still wasting your life with scoundrels, being useless."

"Don't call my name like that!" A flush crept into Misaki's face as he threatened the latter with his fist. "You're still a jerk as ever!"

Tatara walked and asked carefully, "You know him, Yata?"

"I wish I didn't!"

"How harsh, is that how you treat childhood friend? Mi-sa-ki~"

"Shut up! He was just an old acquaintance back in Alexandria before I join the band."

Fushimi straightened his uniform and brushed his hair with his hand as he callously said, "Well, I don't have time to waste here. I have to find that inconvenient, annoying prince and get back to Alexandria. Now, be thankful that I will overlook your gangs' unpardoned crime for abducting the prince and get out of my way."

"What a coincidence, Boss is about to leave to find him. The forest is full of unknown creatures and beasts. Rumors say that no one can get out of here alive, in fact. It will be better if you go together." Tatara calmly offered with a smile, and thrust a scroll of paper to Mikoto. "Here is the map to Lindblum. Once we can fix the airship, we have to head to Lindblum as soon as we can to get medical attention for the wounded."

Mikoto nodded, "Don't wait up. I'll see you there if I miss the flight."

"Then I'll accompany you, Boss!" Misaki exclaimed with determined look. Fushimi had walked away without a glance back. "Leave me alone, you're just burdens."

Mikoto ignored the insult and treaded the same path with Fushimi to deeper part of forest. Misaki scowled angrily at his old friend as he followed the scarlet-haired man.

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><p>The mists lurking in the forest gave the chill running along Misaki's back. The woodland did live up to its name, the Evil Forest. The atmosphere it gave in was different to the usual forest they usually resided in near the Lindblum. People from nearby village often said that the eerie mist aggravated the beasts, making them berserk and turning into quite formidable enemies. The forest was too quiet for his liking. Even at such starry night, the normal forest usually was still active with nocturnal animals, leaving the nest and hunting, but not with this one. All he could hear was the hiss of night wind and slithering sound like creeping snakes amidst the tall grass. The bad vibe put him in high alert for sudden ambush. There was too much unknown in this part of darkness.<p>

Mikoto called forth a simple fire magic to lighten the path as they walked passed through the wet, grassy land and crossed the small rivers. Misaki could only stare in awe. He knew that his boss had certain affinity toward fire magic, but to see it with his own eyes was a different matter. The sight of his magic still mesmerized Misaki. Even the view caught Fushimi's attention for a moment, before the arrogant teen glanced away with bored look as if he wasn't caught red-handedly for being in awe for the magical display. There were not much left of humans inheriting magician blood based on the latest research of royal scholars, after all.

They walked in silence, being careful not to attract unwanted attention from the inhabitant of the forest. A few of mutant spiders with poisonous flower on its back chased after them, but Fushimi could easily slay them down with his saber while Mikoto and Misaki took turn to join the fight and watch their backs. From the short-lived battle, Fushimi could perceive Mikoto's power, probably equal to Munakata in term of skill and strength, but he refused to admit it, much less speaking it out loud. The last thing he would do would be boosting Mikoto's ego, he thought.

When Fushimi dipped his boot in annoyance to the shallow river to get across, a familiar faint slashing sound was heard from the distant ahead, down beyond the small plateau in front of him. He knew that sound by heart already. He had heard it million times during the practice in castle ground as a legendary saber split the air along with its graceful, expert movement. Before Fushimi realized it, his legs had carried him faster, causing the water to splash around in his hurry.

"Oi, Saru! Don't suddenly run on your own!" Misaki immediately shouted, but the raven-haired simply ignored him. He slid down the terrain, and once he reached the lower level of the ground, Fushimi ran off until he stood before a wide clearing with a small lake with crystal-clear water in the middle of it. The sound of metal became quite clear and loud to his ears. He quickly scanned the area and finally found the one he had been searching for at the corner of the clearing.

Munakata had just landed the final blow to the slithering, abnormal flower with several limbs stemming from its original root, when he heard the familiar voice behind him. "Your Highness!"

The royal prince whirled around only to smile in relief at the sight of the young captain running toward him, slashing the nearby, aggravated snakes along the way. Munakata sheathed his saber, waiting until Fushimi was just within arm-length with erratic breathing before him. "Captain Fushimi, I'm truly relieved that you seem well after the crash."

"Well, I won't have to go through all those unpleasant events if you didn't _voluntarily_ leaving the castle, Prince Munakata." He snapped, suppressing the urge to scream or yell at his superior. Fushimi could only sigh in defeat when Munakata kept smiling with calm demeanor but oppressive air in his silence.

"I'm surprised that you survive the fall unharmed." Mikoto strolled lazily across the clearing as his eyes glinted with innate interest.

Munakata locked his eyes on Mikoto's amber ones with annoyed look. "How unpleasant; no wonder I feel sick all of sudden. And here I was hoping that I wouldn't have to cross roads with you anymore."

"The ride is not free, you owe me." Mikoto smirked pompously to provoke the latter.

"As far as I'm concerned, the ride only gets me in the middle of nowhere and far from my destination. Now I would have no choice but to take roundabout route, which means more time wasted because I make a mistake to go with you." Munakata scoffed and leered viciously. "Now that my guard has safely returned to me, it's time for us to part. I bid you farewell."

Mikoto abruptly snatched Munakata's wrist threateningly, "And as I've said before, that won't do. You're coming with me, like it or not. You're the delivered package, after all."

Fushimi raised his sword and pointed it at Mikoto with narrowed eyes, "I won't let you." The next second, Misaki put his metal club just a few centimeters from his ex-childhood friend's head. "Get the sword away from Boss."

A pair of amber eyes stared straight at the violet ones, whirling with storms inside as they struggled in staring contest while they remained in deadlock. After a while, the temperature seemed to drop several degrees and Munakata jerked away his hand from Mikoto's clutch with a tiny sigh. "Now this is not the time. We shall postpone this discussion to next time."

Mikoto only nodded and signaled for Misaki, who begrudgingly followed his order to lower his weapon. "Something is coming."

Munakata gazed up at the canopy of forestry, made from leaves of the tall trees and hummed in conformity. "Indeed," He agreed in low voice, "Our presence seems to awaken a malice presence. It would be best to proceed now."

The slithering sound became louder dissonantly and echoed off the forest. Fushimi was expecting a giant snake, with its golden, sharp eyes ogled them as it was hanging by the tree. However, the truth was not even close to that, but far more horrifying. From every direction of the dark forest, countless thorny snake-like stalks glided by the trees and hounded them down at the lightning speed. Misaki gawked, horrified and desperate at the startling spectacle when Mikoto abruptly yanked Misaki's hand and galloped through the woods, not far behind Fushimi and Munakata who had took off earlier in their haste.

"I guess it's impossible to fight such monstrosity, isn't it?" Fushimi asked, sneaking a glance to the horde of thorny plant stalks and the impossible amount of legions of flower-back poisonous spiders from every crook of the forest marching after them. It was almost as if they had awakened the whole residents of the forest from its deep slumber and now those enraged subjects were all after them.

Munakata chuckled, earning him a revolted look from Fushimi, for even showing an amusement in the time of crisis, but he still announced anyway, "It must not be immortal and there should be a way to annihilate it. There is an old literature in the library mentioning a panacea to cure the curse inflicted by the forest, but no further explanation is written. It is wise not to confront those creatures at the moment."

"…You're mad." Fushimi groaned in frustration, "You and your _brilliant_ idea to run away from the castle. If this doesn't kill you, I'll kill you myself. I demand a job transfer."

"How reassuring, Captain of Knight of Alexandria. I can arrange to transfer you as the royal bookkeeper if the field job posed to be too difficult for you." Munakata smiled unperturbedly as they ran, although Fushimi could feel the creeping ice crawling under his skin and all of sudden, those monstrous plants didn't seem as dreadful as the man beside him. He tore away his eyes from Munakata's with a click of tongue as he grumbled under his breath, "Even nine lives won't be enough to be your guard."

"Can the two of you stop chit-chatting like we're strolling in the garden?" Mikoto interjected in monotonous voice as he ran pass the royal prince.

Misaki was just in time to dodge a colossal stalk which dove down to crush him with a loud yelp, but a spider was already within its attack range when Misaki was recovering from his evasive maneuver. The red-haired teenager impulsively closed his eyes, preparing for the worst when the spider thrust down its stinger-like legs to him. But the pain never came and Misaki felt a splatter of sticky mucous substance on his face. When he cracked open an eye to get a glimpse of his surrounding, Fushimi was already on his war path, slaying down the spiders which targeted him and some of them were burnt to crisp. However, before he even got a chance to show his appreciation, Fushimi unsympathetically snatched his wrist and dragged him forward to evade the stalks. The ground shook and collapsed with deafening sounds every time the stalks collided with the soil.

"Can't you slow them down with your fire magic?!" Fushimi yelled at Mikoto as he and Misaki gained the speed to catch up with their respective superiors.

"Isn't worth the shot. Got a whole forest chasing after us." Mikoto answered offhandedly, trying to save his breath for better worth. He managed to take a quick glance at the situation and continued nonchalantly as if he was talking about weather, "And it turns into stone too."

The three of them looked at him incredulously before they turned around to verify and gasped. There was another indiscernible force chasing from the core of the forest, swallowing the stalks and the spiders indiscriminately and petrifying them into stones. Even the living trees and wild grasses were engulfed along its path and turned color into a hard ash-colored grey.

"What is this place!? A cursed forest!?" Misaki screamed out of the top of his lungs as his legs carried him faster at the new, impending terror. None of them even bothered to speak anymore as they forced their legs to run faster. Fushimi ignored the aching muscles, as they felt like burning, as he was pushing to the limit, but he realized that soon he would burnout and if exit was still long way through, there was no hope at all for him to return to Alexandria and his dull routine.

Fortunately, the exit was already within their sight. Just as soon as they leapt out of the forest, stumbling slightly at the sudden brakes from their long sprint, the whole army of the forest immediately halted just by the border of the exit before everything turned into stone under the moonlight. The passage was completely sealed off by the petrified stalks, which intertwined into an enormous boulder.

Fushimi heaved a heavy sigh and unceremoniously flopped on the sandy soil to catch up his breath as he stared at the sealed exit. Misaki leant forward, panting hard as his sweat rolled down to his chin and fell to the ground. He never felt so thrilled like this moment for being alive and kicking. The silence filled with light atmosphere sunk in as they waited for their heartbeats to stop drumming painfully against their ribs.

Nevertheless, Mikoto started, looking bothered, "Hey, your prince seems dying."

"He is not dying, idiot." Fushimi retorted snippily, as he turned around to see the usual, irritating prince behind him smiling back as if nothing could perturb him. "He is probably just exhaust-"

His sapphire eyes widened in surprise and fear began to embed its claw on his heart. Suddenly he wished that Munakata would give his usual repressive beam at him again like the invulnerable, disconcerting existence, instead of him lying unconscious on his side with dirt all over his cloak and paper white sheet-colored skin.

"Your Highness!" Fushimi exclaimed, already feeling the dread crawling to the pit of his stomach. What if the prince was hurt when he was left alone in the forest and he didn't notice? How could he let the royal heir to die under his watch? Now, not only promotion was flying away, but so was his head.

Mikoto squatted just before Munakata's head, patting his cheek lightly as if to wake him up, only to flinch in surprise at the chilliness on that fair skin. Fushimi furiously slapped away Mikoto's hand and pushed the latter away from Munakata, "Would you stop that!? Just stay away."

Misaki quickly interfered and got in the middle between them, snarling back furiously, "Don't you dare to say that to Boss!"

If it was in normal situation, Fushimi would have picked another verbal fight, leading to physical, but for once, his brain processed the priority and ignored Misaki. He returned back to Munakata's side to roll him as slowly as he could until the sapphire-head prince lied on his back. Under the cast of silver moonlight, Fushimi finally noticed the ashen complexion on Alexandria's sole heir face like he was a wandering ghost instead of the living resident. This was the first time for him to see Munakata this susceptible.

Fushimi shot up and abruptly pointed his finger rudely at Mikoto, "You! Be responsible for your felony and find some water!"

Mikoto shrugged with a devilish smirk, "Why don't you go get it yourself?"

Fushimi scowled darkly and fixed his eyeglasses unnecessarily, "I have to look after him. Considering what happens to him just because he goes with you, I don't trust you _at all_ to watch over him."

The scarlet-haired man heaved a sigh and walked away to get the order done. Even before Fushimi commanded him, he had decided to look for some water after all. He had helped Tatara several times to look after sick members and the blond always told him to get some water during nursing the sick, so it seemed to be the most important necessity they needed at the moment. Misaki grumbled, but he was quickly on his feet to help Mikoto to accomplish the task.

Fushimi worked on pulling off Munakata's cloak and spread it on top of him to shield him from the cold of night air. "After all these times, I can't believe it that you decide to collapse on me right now."

**To be continued...**

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><p><strong>Sunfiredancer<strong>: I'm so happy that you like this AU crossover and you even give me some of your time to review! ^_^ Thank you very much~ *glomps* I hope this fantasy can meet at least a bit of your expectation...

**RoadKamelotemnace**: Really? I actually think AO3 is much easier to browse compared to ffnet...XD But I guess it's kinda tricky for a guest to leave comment there. I really appreciate it! Thank you for making time to comment here~

** AkiFushi **: Aki-chan! I'm so happy to see you here! Why, I can only hope that this AU can please you... ^_^ Yeah, it's quite different from Hourglass, probably because it's AU and everything about FFIX screams fantasy, so...XD Uh? Yeah, I see lots of MikoTotsu, but I thought it was because there was a meme week for MikoTotsu back then. I didn't realize it that it still continued on, though. Mikorei fics are getting rarer every day...*sobs hard* How about if you write Mikorei too? XD For me? *puppy eyes* Hahaha, well, do not fear, dear! Actually Fushimi will have plenty role, since the character he substitutes in FFIX is part of main party. *spoiler for non-FFIX players* For Awashima, well...you have to keep reading to find out, hohoho. I'm quite glad that this one can intrigue you (I have to personally thank you for FFIX makers for making its awesome plot though so I can hijack it *bricked*). I hope this chapter can give you a little bit of entertainment for your week~ Btw, Happy New Year!


	3. Topaz

Disclaimer: None of FF9 or K project is mine! I still want to wish upon the shooting star though, lol, but I've never seen them fall

Note: I'm sorry for taking almost a month to update this! College is seriously busy and I hardly have time to write anything other than my academic reports and it will go on for 6 months, so…(or maybe years). I can't promise to update every two weeks, but I'll try my best.

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><p>It was boisterously loud when he was awake. In fact, the noise was the reason for his arousing. There was a wet cloth just above his eyes, soothingly cold and the darkness for a good rest, although the exchanging yelling banter cancelled out such comfort.<p>

Munakata stirred a little; his whole body felt like dead logs. It felt so heavy just to lift his hand to get rid the cloth from his face, so he took his time to do so. However, before he could take it off on his own, the cloth was taken away from his face and there was Mikoto's face hovering above him. Munakata bit down the inner wall of his cheek and suppressed a scowl at the sight of him. "Would you kindly get your face away from my sight? It's disconcerting."

Mikoto's eyebrows drew closer at the remark though he opted to disregard it, "…You suddenly passed out, and your dog hollered non-stop."

Fushimi abruptly whirled around and snapped at Mikoto, "I didn't!" He turned his attention back to Munakata with a glare, "This is _exactly _what happens when you recklessly leave the castle, Your Highness!"

Munakata only replied with a knowing grin as he tilted his head to face Fushimi, "Thank you, Captain Fushimi."

The raven-haired knight clicked his tongue in annoyance before he settled himself beside Munakata, much calmer after his outburst. "How do you feel? I have searched for wounds, but I find nothing significant to cause your collapse."

"Hmm, it's probably just exhaustion." Munakata hummed dismissively.

"You didn't even look one bit fatigued on previous long, taxing missions, though." Fushimi reminded with a dark look, not buying the royal prince's justification at all. "Forget about that. Now we should start moving to go back to Alexandria."

Munakata sighed quietly, regretting that he had to involve the latter in his selfishness. "I'm sorry, but I have to go to Lindblum, Fushimi."

A vein popped up on Fushimi's head as he narrowed his eyes threateningly with a transparent repugnant on his face. However, Munakata didn't flinch, but keep his chilling smile as he reasoned, "There is someone I have to meet."

"I won't let you. I will bring you back to the castle and if you really have to go there, you can make an official request to the King instead of sneaking around." Fushimi retorted harshly. The light from the campfire was reflected on Fushimi's glasses, making it difficult for Munakata to see the glint in his eyes. However, Fushimi then lowered his voice, that Munakata would mistake it as kindness if he didn't know the young soldier better. The only connection between him and the raven-head was simply professional, and it was always out of respect that Fushimi treated him better than anyone else. "You're not in your prime condition. You'll collapse again before we can reach Lindblum. It is not one or two days of walking distance."

"It's useless." Another voice interjected them, to Fushimi's annoyance. "We've fallen to the lower plain surrounded by mist. Even if you want to go back up to Alexandria, you have to go through the border gates, but they are currently sealed off."

Misaki crossed his arms, nodding in agreement enthusiastically, "Just like Boss has said! We have to go upper ground and there should be a village there. Hopefully they can help us with the transportation."

Munakata pushed himself off from the ground and sat with slightly slouched posture as he smiled coldly at the Homra members. "I think we've a misunderstanding here. I've told you that we will part ways once we are out of the forest."

"And I've said several times that you'll go with us, even if I have to drag you." Mikoto sneered smugly, earning him deadly glares from the royal prince and the prideful knight. "Coincidentally, our client happens to be in Lindblum. So if I manage to deliver you to the client, I don't really care the rest."

"What?" The three of them asked in chorus. Then Fushimi turned to Misaki accusingly, "How can you not know your objective although you help him abducting the prince?! Kidnapping a royal member is a severe crime!"

Misaki flushed in embarrassment as he barked back at his old friend defensively, "It doesn't matter! If Homra decides to do it, we'll do it." He was about to lash out at the black-haired soldier for giving him a condescending look, when Munakata took his chance to interject. "I do not wish to impose on you, but if you insist with your assistance, then we will be in your utmost care." He said politely, although Mikoto could read him beyond the fake mask he wore. There was a tone of cynicism and mistrust dripping by the end of his answer to make him realize that Munakata thought of them as hindrances (and he didn't even attempt to hide his spite), but the blue-haired prince intended to use them to fulfill his purpose. He probably would not hesitate to throw away Homra if they proved to be incompetent enough to assist or if there was even a small hint of deceit.

Mikoto raised an eyebrow at that and turned to Fushimi with an annoyed expression, "It's amazing that you still work under him. He is horrible."

Fushimi averted his eyes and clicked his tongue in annoyance, "…It just happens. That said, in my personal opinion, you're no better than him."

Munakata simply shrugged and mumbled something like 'rebellious age' before he heaved a tiny sigh and scooted closer to the fire camp with his cloak draped on his shoulders. "So, are we in agreement? I will return to Alexandria once I've fulfilled my objective."

Fushimi glanced at him with suspicion, "And what exactly is your objective? Will you return back once you finish your business at Lindblum?"

"Yes, once what I deem necessary is done, I will. For that purpose, I believe it's essential to cooperate with them at the moment." Munakata threw a glance at Mikoto, who deliberately pretended that he wasn't aware of it. They might be working as a team right now, but they were still the captor and the hostage (who didn't even behave like a normal hostage). By the end of the day, they would part with hostility between them. At the end of the scenario, Mikoto would abandon Munakata with the client once he fulfilled the request. Whether Munakata managed to escape from the customer or not was no longer in his list-to-do since there was a lot of repair to do for his ship and injured men to be concerned about. Munakata seemed to harbor similar sentiment, to his relief, by acting intimidating toward them so it was easy for him to keep this encounter in proficient level.

The raven-haired soldier looked doubtful, but he dropped the topic, because Munakata seemed quite resolute in going to Lindblum and there was high likely no room in talking him out of it. He disliked inefficiency, especially fighting a losing battle. It would be better if he just followed whatever Munakata wished to do and helped him to complete it soon, since it would be easier to keep an eye on him by doing so. It would only give him more trouble if the royal prince decided to ditch him since Fushimi didn't compel to his wish. He snorted and grumbled in low voice, "Fine."

Munakata gave a curt nod before he turned to Mikoto. The light of the fire casted shadow on the Homra's leader, giving an image of a cold-blooded killer with the furrowed eyebrows, hard lines on his forehead and the down curve on the edge of his lips. He was slightly amused at the thought, since the impression was probably didn't match Mikoto. Looking at the number of young teenagers, behaving like a merry band under his wing, it would be difficult to think of him as a vindictive person. He settled on treating him better so to make the journey easier, although Munakata had no intention at all to cross the line of stranger. He finally said after a long silence but the crackle sound of burned woods, "I still haven't caught your name."

Mikoto abruptly snapped up at the question and lifted his drowsy eyes to meet violet ones. Munakata felt slightly guilty for not realizing the latter already dozing off, but he swallowed his urge to apologize. Nevertheless, Mikoto didn't seem mind as he yawned and replied in slightly slurred speech, "I think it's a common sense that you should tell your name first before asking others." Munakata was stunned for a moment at the remark before he felt the sudden urge to skip the introduction and keep calling Mikoto with unpleasant names just as a payback. But in the end, he decided to be civilized until they could finally part ways.

"My apologies. My name is Munakata Reisi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mikoto rolled his eyes and smirked teasingly at the prince, "Your way of talking is too stuffy. Anyway, Suoh Mikoto, at your service, Your Highness."

Munakata frowned at the sarcasm and settled on pretending not to hear it as he asked, "Then, Suoh, where are we heading?"

"There is a cavern made by ice just not far from here. It's connected to upper ground."

The red-haired man had already dozed off again when Misaki decided to explain it further, "The plane where we are now is not suitable for living because of the mist. It's populated by mutating beasts and monsters, so there is no village around. If we go to higher ground, there should be a village nearby. We can get some food and water or some rest before we hit the road to Lindblum."

"Since it's Misaki speaking, you better don't trust him entirely," Fushimi sneered at the younger scarlet-haired teenager, who immediately threw a sharp look in response. Misaki shot up from his seat and barked back at the insult, "What the hell!? Shut up, Monkey! If you're picking a fight, bring it on!"

"Tsk, it will be useless to talk with brainless scoundrel." Fushimi impassively answered with a leer. In the next second, they started bickering and it amazed Munakata that Mikoto remained asleep despite the commotion. Munakata only sighed as he attempted to tune out the noise. He had first thought of mediating them to make peace, but the more he listened, the more he chalked it like a childish quarrel. It seemed that they were acquainted as well, before Fushimi joined the rank, so if that was how they actually communicated, Munakata would not bother.

Munakata folded his legs and drew them to his chest, trying to get some sleep as the moon had wane a little bit closer to the horizon, although it posed to be quite a challenge since those youngsters kept going on with excessive energy to waste.

"Oi, shut up and get some sleep. Sleepy heads will only slow us down tomorrow."

Misaki quickly stammered apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mikoto-san." Fushimi clicked his tongue but then there was rustling of clothes and suddenly it was quiet and peaceful, with only a faint sound of wolf's howl and owl's hoot from distant forest and occasional hushed bickering in the background. Mikoto huffed in irritation before he returned back to sleep. It completely astonished Munakata as he promptly heard a soft snore from Mikoto, who was lying a bit further from the fire beside him although he was completely awake just a minute ago.

Somehow Munakata felt like laughing. Mikoto seemed like an exhausted, strict, single parent of two difficult children. However, he was thankful with the tranquility and the sleep quickly claimed him once he closed his eyes and relaxed down.

* * *

><p>Half of a day had passed when they finally stood before the mouth of a cave, covered with crystal-like ice walls. The sun was already high above their head but they hardly perceived it since the mist barely lessened from last night. The white mist hovered even outside the woodland, blocking the sun rays from reaching the ground. It made the journey to be a challenge since it obscured their vision. The cave was not that far from the forest they had crashed into, but finding it posed to be difficult with the thick mist, despite the map in Mikoto's hand.<p>

Misaki blew his hands to warm them, and a white wisp escaped his mouth. They had only arrived for a moment at the entrance, and yet he already could feel the cold creeping into his skin, making him shivering lightly with the inadequate amount of garment to chase away the cold. He only wore his usual one-layer white tunic and a knee-length trouser to accommodate his agility. He was the fastest member among the Homra and took pride of it, thus he always wore a light, flexible cloth. However, right now, he wished that he had the handmade, red scarf from Anna with him or something warmer like a mantle for him to wear.

Behind him, Fushimi scowled at the unfamiliar chill. Alexandria's weather was pretty much warm all year round. Even during winter, the temperature never fluctuated much and snow rarely fell on their country. Despite him being clad with multilayer royal knight uniform, the cold still seeped through the cloth. He tried to rub his palms on his arms, hoping that the friction would be enough to warm him up, but the effort only gave him a fleeting comfort. The only ones who were composed at such condition was the expected royal prince, since he wore a cloak up to his ankle and unexpectedly Mikoto, despite his similar costume with Fushimi. The red-haired Boss might have worn the same navy-colored uniform he had stolen, and yet so sloppily that Fushimi almost didn't recognize it as Alexandria's soldier uniform.

Munakata looked amused at the chattering sounds of Misaki's and Fushimi's teeth and absentmindedly complimented Mikoto, who simply stood there as if he couldn't sense the cold. "I'm surprised that you could withstand the cold which Captain Fushimi couldn't handle." He chuckled to his hand, earning a begrudging, annoyed look from his subject. Mikoto threw a glance and shrugged nonchalantly as he stepped forward to enter the cavern.

The rest of them quickly followed the steps and passed through the enormous entrance of the cavern. Beyond the short tunnel of the entry point, there was a wide, paved clearing inside the cavern with sparkling ice underneath their feet and around them, as well as thick, icy pillars and walls. The whole space was lightened up by the sun rays passing through the cracks on the top and its radiance was reflected by the ice walls. There were patches of ground filled with lively tiny, white wild flowers emerging amidst the ice land. Although it was beauty made by nature alone, without any interference by humans, there were flight of steps and paths leading to higher ground.

"Whoa…it's really pretty!" Misaki distractedly commented, momentarily forgetting the cold as he was in awe with the beautiful view before him. "I've never seen a cave like this! It's as if it's made of glasses!"

Even Fushimi held his breath and forgot to take his opportunity to insult Misaki with his sharp tongue. He might have been dispatched to several places, carrying the duty as Alexandria's Knight, but he never saw a place like this. And he was most certain that this would be a new experience even for the royal prince. Munakata lowered down the hood of his cloak and pushed the glasses up to the bridge of his nose with a faint smile. "Well, this is indeed stunning."

Several meters ahead of them, Mikoto turned around with hands on the pockets of his pants, looking entirely bored, "Can we move on? You will freeze to death if you keep dawdling."

Munakata raised an eyebrow and took his chance to sneer, "It can't be helped. Someone as boorish like you obviously has no tact to appreciate the splendor of nature, I guess."

Mikoto snorted with mocking look, "I don't want to hear it from the same person who keeps telling me that he is in hurry."

The royal prince flushed a little in embarrassment before he walked briskly and passed through Mikoto with wide strides and irritated look. Mikoto only chuckled at the retaliation as he said, "You better slow down. The ice is slippery, you might trip."

"I don't need your concern, thank you very much!" Munakata snapped without even a glance back as he stepped on the ice stairs and continued to walk to the deeper part of the cave. Fushimi only shrugged at the display of petty fight before him and suddenly he felt loss of urge to quarrel with his childhood friend. He heaved a sigh and begrudgingly followed the rushing prince, trying to catch up with him before Munakata could hurt himself. Not that he would worry his superior in normal situation, but Munakata had just recovered from said _'exhaustion'_ and it would be disaster for him if the prince fainted again in unfavorable situation or injured himself in such weakened state. Misaki and Mikoto only shared an exasperated look at the disappearing backs before they followed them.

They threaded path slowly as they occasionally crossed the bridge made by ice to traverse the bottomless ravine. The further they were away from the entrance, the wind got harsher and stronger. Mikoto had to use his arms to cover his eyes from the assaulting force of windstorm. Misaki sneezed several times behind him as the cold finally surpassed his tolerance level with his lack of adequate garment. Fushimi had been shivering non-stop and Munakata seemed to draw his cloak tighter around him.

"Since the wind gets stronger, it means greater air pressure difference. An exit should be close then." Munakata had to shout since the gale was too loud that he could hear ringing inside his ears.

"I hope so. I just want to get out of this place soon." Fushimi scowled as he pushed forward against the windstorm.

"Yeah," Misaki added as he sneezed, "I want to be under the sun. _Right now_."

When they moved to the next area, there was an enormous hole in front of them, where the harsh wind blew and just at their right was a long flight of winding ice path going up quite higher than their current platform and they could see the glimmer of light coming through from the exit up above. The clearing was quite spacious and high, beyond comparison to previous areas. Munakata had to fully crane his neck to see the top of the cave. The canopy was all covered with thick ice that there was no golden light coming through from it.

Misaki and Fushimi promptly brightened up at the prospect of near exit that they raced to the top of the spiraling trail, leaving their superiors behind without second thought. Munakata only laughed quietly at the sight as he could understand the hurry. The teenagers had longed for the sun and warmth quite terribly that they would even put aside their differences and only think of leaving the ice cavern. When he glanced at Mikoto, he was not even surprised to see the corner of Mikoto's lips curved up and his eyes glinted with amusement.

"They are quite energetic despite their complaint, aren't they?"

Mikoto only hummed in agreement as he stepped up the track steadily and offered a hand back to Munakata, who only stared at it then to Mikoto with suspicious look, "…What?"

"Let's go," Mikoto answered a little bit patiently with extended hand. "This looks pretty steep. It'll be faster if I help you."

Munakata seemed hesitant to take his hand, since his pride wouldn't allow him to show even a moment of weakness. However, Mikoto had noticed the similar pale, exhausted complexion on Munakata and the short of breaths returning back. He couldn't risk the latter to slip and fall just because he lost the strength and broke his neck in the process. The royal heir might look steadier than the day before, but he hadn't fully recovered as the foul-mouth knight had speculated.

Mikoto was annoyed at the neglect, and his extended hand started to feel sore, so he lunged forward to grab for Munakata's wrist and yanked him forward as he treaded the icy trail. "Suoh!" Munakata yelped in surprise and the force made him skipped and stumbled several steps, but they reached the top much faster and less strenuous than he anticipated.

By the time both of them walked out the exit, Fushimi and Misaki had sat just near the edge of the cliff, observing the vast prairie ahead and discussing between them. The sun had started leaning to the west with the white puff of clouds obscuring the mauve-tinted sunset sky. When Fushimi noticed them coming, he shot up and walked toward them. "There is a small village just down there and we've found the small path going down from here. We might be able to get some transport to Lindblum."

"Then we shouldn't delay any moment now." Munakata was about to step forward when he felt a tug on his wrist.

"Now, hold it," Mikoto interjected, shrugging off the dirty look Munakata had thrown at him. "There should be uproar about your absence already and your people will be looking for you. You can't just waltz in like that."

Munakata narrowed his eyes but he remained collected, "Are you asking me to disguise myself to avoid unnecessary attention?"

Mikoto smirked pompously as he folded his arms before his chest, "I like smart guys. So, do something with your way of talking and lay low. You should think of other name for us to address you," Mikoto paused and turned to Fushimi with a pointed look, "There goes without saying, you can't call him 'Your Highness' or 'Prince'. You've gotta to get rid that blue coat too. It reveals your identity." Just as soon as he stated it, Mikoto took off the knight's trench coat and black vest he had stolen and tossed it carelessly on the ground, leaving him only with a crumpled white shirt with several buttons loosened up. Munakata couldn't help but stare at the abandoned uniform with an irritated look and urgent urge to reprimand Mikoto for the lack of care to return the stolen good but he bit his tongue and held back. It would be a huge waste of time to tell off such rogue.

"Then just call me Reisi. Most people only know the royal family name, after all," Munakata shrugged nonchalantly and also followed Mikoto's gaze to fall on Fushimi. "I do understand his point. You shall address me with that name from now on until we return to Alexandria, Fushimi."

"Well, if you say so…" The raven-haired soldier trailed off, feeling uncomfortable at the prospect of calling his superior by name. It was considered as insolence against the royal family and in normal situation, he would already be held against the law. "But I'm not taking off the uniform. General Awashima would reprimand me for losing castle's property. They are only looking for the prince, so there is no need for me to worry."

Mikoto only snorted and put his hands inside the pockets of his pants, "Whatever. Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Whoa…there are lots of windmills!" Misaki said as his eyes sparkled at the sight of small village with windmills running just not far from the small farm. "In Lindblum, they are using machines. It has been a while since I last see a windmill."<p>

"I see…so Homra's base is located in Lindblum?" Munakata asked as he stepped away from the children running around, playing tag before they could bump on him. The young boys were squealing energetically as they played among themselves; completely oblivious to the exasperated Fushimi as he glared at them for the noise. He didn't like kids even when he was around the same age. Even when the boys around his age fooled around, screaming and playing heroes, he preferred books and learnt everything to survive and thrive by his own power. For that very reason, back then he used to dislike Misaki as well since he was noisy and cheerful kind, but his persistence and tolerance toward Fushimi's harsh words and cold behavior slowly opened up Fushimi's heart.

It only lasted until Misaki left Alexandria for Lindblum to join the thief gang though. Misaki had once introduced him to his new friends, and even from first meeting, Fushimi already felt irreconcilable among them. When the scarlet-haired teen invited him to the family, the knight blatantly rejected the offer and gave a cold shoulder since Misaki chose them over him. They ended up separating with bad blood between them and the distance and time tore them apart even further. Yet, fate was a mysterious thing. After years passed and Fushimi had thought that he would never see his childhood friend anymore, they at last came across because of this kidnapping incident. Nevertheless, what had been broken was already beyond repair and Fushimi had no intention returning to what they had been or could be if Misaki didn't go with Homra.

"Yeah, it's in the regency of Lindblum. Our legal profession is a theater group." Mikoto yawned and stretched his muscles. A long walk started to make him feeling sleepy and the evening breeze just felt quite comfortable as it softly tousled his scarlet hair. The smell of grass and flower pots gave off the peaceful feeling and lulled him off. The houses and shops in the village were small and quiet, with smoke rising up the chimneys. There was a waterway connected from every house, transporting the household water waste away from the village to a bigger river. A well stood in the middle of the village as the source of water.

"I'm going to look around!" Misaki exclaimed, brimming with excessive excitement like a child. However, before he could even move a step away from the group, Mikoto already grabbed the back collar of his shirt and held him still with a tiny sigh.

"Are you an oversized kid?" Fushimi promptly said as he unnecessarily fixed his eyeglasses and threw a impertinent look at Misaki. "We need to discuss the plan from here."

"Why, you!" Misaki pointed his fist toward Fushimi with an angry glare, but Munakata decided to step in between youngsters.

"I think we all need rest after walking for a whole day. Should we find an inn now?" Munakata smiled calmly at Misaki and put his hand on his fist to lower it down gently. Misaki was about to protest when Mikoto released the red-haired teen and walked away from them to push through the door of the nearest building. There was an old wood board nailed at the top of the door with indistinct word; something like 'Dali Inn'. Munakata forced a tiny exhale before he tapped Fushimi's and Misaki's backs to start following him.

Just as they entered the inn, Mikoto already sauntered to the small room just on the left side of the counter. An old man with white hairs stood behind the counter, filling in the guest book, and ignoring their presence altogether. The building seemed to be slightly dusty and old, although it was bright and warm with the sunset rays entering through the opened glass windows. There were several foliage in pots which were arranged neatly near the counter and the entrance door.

"Is there only one room in this inn?" Munakata asked as he observed around.

"This is only a small village. Don't expect it to be like your bedroom," Mikoto replied idly as he used the key he had received from the inn keeper to open their room. "We have to share the room."

"Oh, I'm fine with it." The royal prince replied straightforwardly as he crouched before the inn owner's cat, staring at it as it licked its paw. Fushimi rolled his eyes as he realized that his superior looked terribly tempted to ruffle the cat's fur. On the other hand, Mikoto looked surprised for several seconds before he pushed the door open. "I thought you would complain," Mikoto answered, although there was no malice in his tone.

Munakata frowned at the remark and turned his head to face Mikoto's retreating back, "Some field missions and trainings require us to camp out. Please erase your assumption as if I'm a bird in golden cage."

Mikoto only stared back at him for a moment before he said quietly with quirked eyebrow, "Aren't you?"

The pair of violet eyes widened in surprise and Munakata fell into long silence with slightly darkened look, but none of them attempted to talk anymore. Fushimi sighed exasperatedly at the uncomfortable atmosphere hanging around them. He was just drained and he just wanted to rest.

"Move aside. If you want to loiter around, it's your business, but I want to lie down on the bed." Fushimi snapped as he strode and passed through Mikoto brusquely who was standing at the door room.

* * *

><p>"So…we'll see whatever kind of transportation they have and if we get lucky, we might get a ride to Lindblum, is that it?" Fushimi slapped his forehead and held back the urge to sigh heavily or scoff at it. "That's the most ridiculous plan I've ever heard coming from you."<p>

Munakata only beamed at the exasperated knight, "That's simply what we can do at the moment, looking at the situation. Unless you have a better suggestion…"

Fushimi took off his vest and crawled to the empty bed across Munakata's. There were four beds in total in their room, with two beds across the rest of them. The moment they had entered the chamber, Misaki immediately chose the bed closest to the door and leapt on it. Fushimi simply pushed Munakata to pick up the farthest bed from the entrance, saying that it was for his own protection and he chose the one next to Misaki's and in front of Munakata's. Mikoto simply took whatever left and already drifted off to light sleep.

"…Heading back to Alexandria is still the most logical solution I can think of. Here is closer to Alexandria. If we have to use any means of land or sea transportation, it would take weeks before we can get to Lindblum while only two days to Alexandria. You will probably get caught by Your Majesty's knights before that." Fushimi tried meekly, hoping that luck would be in his favor and Munakata would concur with what he had been suggesting.

"It's not an option." The royal prince curtly said with resolute tone while he was taking off his shoes as he sat on the edge of his bed. "Even though I originally don't envisage this accident and end up taking weeks just to reach there, I will still go by any means."

"Why are you being so persistent about it?" Fushimi lost his patience and accidentally snapped harsher than he had intended to. But when the stern violet eyes harbored themselves on his sapphire ones, Fushimi clicked his tongue in annoyance and backed down.

"What I intend to do is confidential. I can only say that I have to meet someone in Lindblum without being known by King."

Fushimi scowled before he abruptly flopped down on the bed begrudgingly, "I hope this is not because you fawn over a stupid girl."

Munakata only laughed quietly, as he glanced at the duo sleeping heads with similar scarlet-colored hair, radiant like sunset in the verge of twilight. He had tried to keep down his voice, but it seemed that the Homra's members slept so soundly that they might not even wake even if there was an earthquake. "Even if it is, I think you have no choice but to follow me. You're still allowed to return to the castle on your own though."

Although the royal prince was smiling at him, Fushimi felt a shiver along his spine and he knew that he had lost the dispute again. It felt unfair to him whenever Munakata used his rank to subdue Fushimi and didn't allow any room for argument and even attempted to delude him as if he had options to choose. The prince should have known that there was no way Fushimi could return alone, leaving Munakata on his own unless he didn't mind a week of extreme interrogation and punishment brought by the royal court and general herself. Fushimi muttered under his breath as he pulled his blanket up to his chin, "Such a disagreeable prince…"

"I hear that." Munakata chuckled to his hand and turned off the light as he whispered, "Get some sleep. There are lots of things to do tomorrow."

"Yes, _mom_," The royal knight retorted half-heartedly before he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of his steady heartbeats and cicadas cries.

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading! And please let me leave appreciation toward my most awesome, supportive reader!<p>

**AkiFushi**: Thank you for your sweet review! Hahaha~ I hope you will enjoy a little tiny bit hints of SaruRei along these early chapters before the plot turns to the real pairings. XD (I rly blame you for this, lol) Somehow they just become happy little family along the way. *bricked* Just stay tuned for Awashima! Ohhh, you are giving me high hope! Now I'm really going to hold on your words, Aki-chan *3* Please write Mikorei fic, pretty please? *puppy eyes* There are just not enough Mikorei fics T_T


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